After a photo was released of UConn students posing with severed heads at a dental lab, there was controversy about when taking photos in class is acceptable and how photos can be taken respectfully. The incident occured over a year ago though it was first reported on February 5th. The photo was taken at Yale School of Medicine during the 2017 DePuy Synthes Future Leaders Workshop, which focused on dental-related facial deformities.
In the photo were graduate dental school students and Dr. Flavio Uribe, an assistant professor and orthodontics program director at UConn Health and a visiting associate professor at the Yale School of Medicine. “Somebody unfortunately took a photo,” Uribe said when asked about the photo. “It was so quick. I wasn’t sure of the surroundings or scenery at that point.”
Christopher Hyers, UConn Health’s chief communications officer, said in a statement that “UConn Health was made aware of the matter at the time it happened and took appropriate internal steps.” However, Uribe admitted that he has never been punished for the incident. But how could such a disgraceful photo lead to no penalty? Not only was the photo disrespectful towards the deceased and their loved ones, but a rule set in place by Yale University was broken as well.
Thomas Conroy, a spokesman for the university says there are clear and visible signs that forbid the use of photography in the lab. “The photograph taken at a symposium at Yale was disturbing and an inexcusable deviation from anything Yale would expect to occur,” Conroy said in a statement. It is baffling to see no consequences yet in place for the students or faculty involved when not only moral boundaries, but set in stone rules were ignored as well. Dr. Lawrence Rizzolo, a surgery professor and director of medical studies at the Yale School of Medicine, called the selfie “an egregious violation of Yale policy” in an email, yet no actions to prevent this from happening again have been reported.
Sadly, this is not the first time an incident like this has been reported. Over the past couple of years numerous reports have been filed with claims of disrespectful photos and treatments of bodies that were intended for scientific exploration. This places even more responsibility on both UConn and Yale to punish those involved and set stricter regulations in place to prevent similar events from occurring in the future.
